“Pizza Rat” has taken the Internet by storm. A video of the furry vermin hauling a slice down the stairs in the Big Apple has disgusted some and inspired others, but in the end, the poor creature didn’t even get to eat his greasy treasure.

“When we walked through the turnstile we saw this guy carrying a slice of pizza as big or bigger than himself down three stairs, before I got my phone out and started recording it.”

Both slice and rat are pretty comparable in size, and though he was doing a good job hauling the food down the stairs, he gave up before reaching the bottom, scurrying away to leave it limp and abandoned.

“I like to think he was sharing with us, like he saw me and my friend Pat coming down the stairs and he said ‘well that looks like two hungry guys,’ and left the rest of it for us,” Little said.

For Little, who got to witness the incredible feat of strength and determination in person, it captured a moment that represents the life of a New Yorker.

“I think this rat is the hero that this city deserves and if I was the person that had a chance to show everybody how great even the rodent population of this city is then I feel that I have contributed positively to this city.”

Despite this grand statement, Matt can’t believe the clip has become an enormous hit on Twitter, proving that it’s impossible to predict what story or video or scandal will become viral next, Entertainment Weekly noted.

It’s not only Twitter users that have fallen in love with the video — news outlets have picked up on it, the best headline perhaps from Mashable: “Rat carrying pizza slice will teach you what it means to have a dream.” Yes, a dream of pizza.

Even Esquire got in on the philosophical interpretations of the video.

“We relate to the little guy desperate to get home. We, too, want to Netflix and chill (while scarfing down pizza). And yes, we disregard the five-second rule. Pizza rat, you are all of us. We are you.”

At the end of the day, this is just a story about a rodent and his meal — and given how many rats NYC says, it’s probably not a very unique one. But if the Internet really wants to watch something fairly disgusting and cringe-worthy, here’s another video that could captivate the world.